UN News Today 02 July 2026 |

Ukraine aid chief condemns deadly attack on Kyiv

One of the largest Russian attacks on Kyiv since the full-scale invasion has left at least 13 people dead and nearly 90 injured, including several children, prompting the UN’s top official in Ukraine to warn that “the killing of civilians should never be normalised in war.”

The overnight assault forced millions of residents to spend up to 11 hours in shelters as missiles and drones struck across the capital. Homes, a hotel, a market and other civilian sites were destroyed or damaged, while search-and-rescue teams continued looking for survivors trapped beneath collapsed buildings.

Several health workers and ambulance drivers were also injured after an ambulance station was hit.

“The longer the war goes on, the deeper these invisible scars become,” said Humanitarian Coordinator Matthias Schmale, warning that repeated attacks are leaving lasting psychological trauma on civilians.

He added that civilians in Kyiv and across the country should not be targeted by Russian missiles and drones, stressing that they are protected under international humanitarian law.

UN urges restraint as Gulf tensions threaten fragile ceasefire

The UN warned on Thursday that the ceasefire between the United States and Iran remains fragile after a new wave of military strikes and maritime incidents raised fears of a return to full-scale fighting around the Strait of Hormuz.

Briefing the Security Council, Assistant Secretary-General Elizabeth Spehar said recent confrontations were “a stark reminder of the fragility of the current situation” despite ongoing mediation efforts led by Qatar.

The latest escalation followed reported attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, US strikes on Iranian military infrastructure and Iranian missile and drone attacks targeting US facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait.

“The Secretary-General unequivocally condemns all attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure. Such actions are unacceptable. Residential areas, ports, energy facilities, commercial vessels and maritime personnel must be protected.”

Ms. Spehar welcomed the resumption of indirect talks between the United States and Iran in Doha and urged both sides to exercise maximum restraint, warning that any return to full-scale hostilities would have catastrophic consequences for the region, international peace and security, and the global economy.

Conflict and aid cuts push hunger to near-decade high in northern Nigeria

Finally, conflict and shrinking humanitarian funding are driving northern Nigeria into its worst hunger crisis in nearly a decade, the UN World Food Programme, WFP, warned on Thursday.

More than 17 million people across nine conflict-affected northern states are now facing crisis, emergency or catastrophic levels of hunger – an increase of almost two million since the last assessment. 

In Borno State alone, more than three million people are acutely food insecure, including over 10,000 facing catastrophic hunger.

“What concerns us most is how this crisis is expanding,” said Kinday Samba, Regional Director for West and Central Africa, warning that insecurity is spreading beyond Nigeria’s northeast, forcing families from their farms and making it harder for aid agencies to reach those in need.

The World Food Programme said severe funding shortages mean it can now assist only 740,000 of the 6.2 million people facing acute hunger in the three northeastern states, leaving 5.5 million people without lifesaving food assistance.

The agency warned that as food aid is suspended, more people are being driven to desperate measures, including joining armed groups in search of food or income, while women and children face rising risks of exploitation and gender-based violence.

Jolina Dong, UN News